Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.

Given the team's current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?

Maybe the Yanks winning ways can rub off on the White House a little bit. Here is to hoping they leave Javy at home, ha.

Do members of this years team who were not on the WS team get to make the visit too? Anybody know? I feel like the answer has got to be no, right.

Mike HC

I’m a 10 by the way, as I have been since last years ALCS

larryf

They get to tour the Nationals park. NJ is the tour guide and based on recent play, NJ, Javy and Curtis may end up there soon. BTW, it is a rainy day in the area.

Jammy Jammers

You are correct. The non-2009 Yanks do not get to meet The Messiah.

V

Is that necessary? Really? Do you lack such self control in real life?

Jammy Jammers

You just made my point. Thank you.

Mike HC

I’m assuming I missed something here.

Why do you lack self control? and how did that make your point? I don’t even see a “point” made anywhere.

I’m confused.

pat

I assume it was his sarcastic use of the term “The Messiah”

Elwood

Quick.. someone give a bush or palin joke!! Some can’t stand anyone criticizing their sacred leader!! No humor or discourse when it involves Obama or else you’re a racist!

And he was awful today in his address with the team. Someone better fix his teleprompter fast or else I want to hear Biden. A laugh a second with the vice-prez. Only John Kruck rivals his wit!

http://www.bomberbanter.com/ BomberBanter.com

Fair is fair. Obama is open to ridicule, just like any other politician. But attacking him for using a teleprompter? That’s just dumb. EVERY NATIONAL POLITICIAN USES A TELEPROMPTER. Or, they write it on their hand…

Rose

Half of the losses on the season have been contributed (though not directly) by Javier Vasquez.

Big difference between last year and this year. Is he letting the pressure get to him or are his mechanics just legitimately out of whack?

Is he letting the pressure get to him or are his mechanics just legitimately out of whack?

Considering that his velocity if off and he’s getting significantly fewer swings and misses, I don’t think it’s the pressure.

http://www.bomberbanter.com/ BomberBanter.com

exactly, his velocity is down – way to stick to the facts! the question is, WHY is his velocity down? is he hurt? or is it mechanical? i dont see how its the pressure. how’d he win 10+ in the first half of 04 if thats the case… and again, his velocity is down, something is clearly off

http://videogamesandbox.wordpress.com/ Double-J

Definitely a solid 9, and feeling very good about the roster composition, though I think Gardner has to be left in there everyday (and I was a Melky supporter…go figure). Marcus Thames makes me sad. If Javy gets things turned around (fingers crossed), it has to go up to a 10. Tex will emerge from his annual spring slump. Arrow up heading into May.

http://www.bomberbanter.com/ BomberBanter.com

How would you feel about Thames as the DH against lefty starters? especially while Nick Johnson is struggling?

Dax J. – The Grunt & Fart factor

I’m a 9. I hope Javy works out his mechanics’ problem. I’m also joining the Zen Baseball club. It’s working well so far.

Mike HC

ha. If there is any team conducive to that club, its the Yanks.

http://www.examiner.com/x-46034-Newark-Bears-Examiner Dan

Its hard not to be confident right now. Even after botching the series. The team has been playing great and Vazquez will come around eventually. I just hope the rest of the rotation pitches well when Javy comes around.

Dirty Pena

Still a 10. Been a 10 basically since September last year, and winning a World Series, having a good offseason, and opening the season on a 108 win pace aren’t going to change that.

Dirty Pena

Though our recent early season struggles against Baltimore worry me this week. Not so much about the team itself, but the “OMG YANKS HAVE LOST 5 OF 7″ headlines.

The good news is that the rest of the team is doing great. Jeter, Posada, Cano, Arod, Cervelli, and any starting pitcher not named Javier Vasquez…

Despite all the negative value amongst several players…we’re still 12-6. Not bad…should be significantly better once people start turning themselves around.

AndrewYF

How is a 0.4 WAR at this point in the season ‘shitty’? Projected out to 162 games, that’s a 3.6 WAR, which is decidedly ‘unshitty’, especially from a player such as Gardner.

I don’t think you understand what ‘cumulative’ means. WAR is a cumulative stat.

Rose

Thinking that a player like Brett Gardner will continue his productivity in a short sample size could be just as arbitrary as thinking that Mark Teixeira will continue his negative value through out the season.

I was only presenting the facts…

AndrewYF

But you said that Gardner had a shitty WAR.

He doesn’t.

Neither does Granderson, and he’s even been in a hell of a slump.

A.D.

Exactly, Gardner’s WAR isn’t shitty at all, and if you’re going to group Cervelli into being a good WAR, when realistically his offense is far less likely to continue then BG, not really fair to throw BG in the shitty WAR category.

Rose

I apologize. I used the wrong word there. Had I not put the word “shitty” in the sentence would everything else have been fine? Just pretend that word never existed there. It was a mistake. You’re right. Some of them are not shitty…but quite a few of them are.

sleepykarl

So then why do you include Cervelli in the positive section? Is it that his 0.3 is better than Granderson and Gardner, or that you expect him to keep up the .429/.529/.500 more than Gardner keeping up his bat?

Dirty Pena

Likewise with Granderson and his 0.6

http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

Those values for Swisher, Gardner, Thames, and Robertson are decidedly unshitty.

Rose

Used the wrong word there. Had I used another word or left it out entirely…perhaps the post would have had more substance or at least been tolerated. My apologies.

Chris

But after the list, you say:

The good news is that the rest of the team is doing great.

So you’re still trying to make the point that those guys aren’t doing well, when it’s really only Teixeira, Winn and Marte that are struggling. When 22 of the 25 players on your roster are doing well, that’s a damn good team.

Rose

Nick Johnson and Javy Vasquez too…

bexarama

Sometimes I’m fairly convinced you’re just trolling.

bexarama

Eh, badly stated. I didn’t mean to accuse you of being a troll. But between the “Nick Johnson has only scored X runs despite a .400 OBP!” and now this post, it seems like you’re trying to make people upset or something.

Rose

I don’t try to get people upset. I try to post a different point of view because almost 100% of the people in here have the same big smiled point of view that everything is always rainbows and butterflies. Now I don’t say that it’s this way ALL of the time…but the majority of the time. I just try to offer a different point of view without the intent of getting everybody upset…but I don’t see a point in having the same conversation every single day with people. “It’s a beautiful day isn’t it??” “Yes! You said it! It is a beautiful day! It’s always a beautiful day isn’t it?” “Yes! It is always a beautiful day indeed! You are right!” To me, that doesn’t do anything for me. I enjoy the site…and I really don’t try to get people upset…I try to stay on topic and offer a different point of view than what is painted a millions times over. That’s all. Unfortunately, people don’t take it as such…they’ll look at something…find one minor detailed mistake (in the last case the word “shitty”) and single in on that and talk about how every factual thing I’ve put down is false because of one word I mistakenly wrote instead of another word.

If you read the bottom, you’ll see that I don’t think this will continue and I have faith in the team as always. They’re 12-6 despite some rocky performances from some guys…but that’s bound to happen on any team. 100% of the team isn’t going to be perfect.

I am only trying to offer a different point of view to start up different conversation. Not to instigate or entice a message board riot…but to just change the pace a little bit. That’s all. If that’s entirely unacceptable (I never saw it in the guidelines) then write it in the guidelines that nobody is allowed to have their own opinions or state different points of view on the message board.

A.D.

I appreciate bringing up the other side, its true Vazquez and NJ haven’t been good.

bexarama

here’s the point: is anyone saying they have been? I really don’t think it’s all sunshine and rainbows here. I think people are pretty balanced. Javy’s been bad so far and I don’t think anyone is claiming anything else. Same with Teixeira. Several other people in the lineup are in slumps.

Also, NJ is in a horrific slump but his OBP is like .370+. That’s crazy.

Rose

Yes I agree. And I certainly don’t think the slumps will continue…just like you can’t expect a lot of the other guys to continue playing extremely well constantly. We would all like that…but it’s unlikely. In the end though, the stats are usually very good and extremely respectable.

Personally, I think Vasquez’s struggles are all mental and not physical. I think he’s putting a lot of pressure on himself due to what happened 6 years ago and it’s affecting his performances because he can’t just relax and throw the ball. Ironically, this is making him perform WORSE and result in exactly what he’s afraid of. Do I know this for sure? No. But this is merely my opinion. Once he shakes some of this off and tosses a few solid starts…I don’t think he’ll have much of a problem anymore.

As for Nick, he’s still getting on base so as long as that’s going on…he’s fine in my book.

Mike HC

They are not pointing out a “minor” detail. Your entire point was that those players were not playing well based on their WAR. The problem is your information does not match your conclusion. Based on those WAR’s, Granderson, Gardner and Thames (considering his small amount of playing time) have actually played well. Swisher has been OK too.

Whether you used the word “shitty” or not is meaningless. Your point was that the listed players were hurting the Yanks based on WAR. Except for the majority of the players you listed, that is not true.

CS Yankee

In reading this site everyday for about 6 months, I have learned;

The sky is falling, the sky is falling
/Rose’d

However, you have some solid points and the only thing I notice is that your quick to point out the ones you don’t like (Javy, Grit Gardner, NJ, etc).

Also, Realize that if Pettitte, Cano, etc haven’t been playing well beyond their norm we could be 9-9.

A couple of players have been poor but the month says April, not June.

Maybe write about the ones you adore and how they are the reason why were playing 667 baseball.

Rose

You’re right. But everybody is talking about the ones we adore that are playing well. Almost nobody is talking about the players not doing so well…and when they do it’s sugar coated.

But again, you’re right. I labeled a few guys that were actually playing decently. I basically listed the people by Fangraphs Value and just threw the WAR in front of it without really thinking. My apologies.

Rose

And it’s just a generalization by everybody as well. I made the mistake of getting into an argument with a few of the highly respected posters on this board when I first came in here and have been ostracized from the group ever since…that was all she wrote.

Anything I write at all is dissected and ripped apart on purpose. It’s almost like a reverse trolling in a way. People pick who they don’t respect or who they don’t appreciate and make it a point to go out of their way to jump on everything they contribute. If I contribute something that everybody agrees with…it’s ignored based on the same standards. They can’t comment in a positive manner so they ignore it. It goes untouched. If I write a different point of view…they begin to salivate and pull the magnifying glass out and it’s time to play.

Even when I write something insignificant or personal it’s not good enough. The whole Matsui thing that I made up over 7 years ago when I was 20 years old with friends in the area…people went absolutely berzerk because they didn’t agree with it.

I don’t try to do anything. It’s the reactions of people based on generalizations of conversations that never originally included them. Do I make a few mistakes? Of course. I’m not perfect. But I’m not purposely trying to do anything.

Mike HC

You wrote something that was straight up factually inaccurate. Why would you assume people would not point that out? And your persecution complex is kinda funny. No offense, but do you really think people care so much about you and what you have to say that they have personal commenting guidelines that they only follow with you. People here are more into themselves and their own opinions to care that much.

Rose

Mike,

I would hope so…but sometimes you have to scratch your head and wonder. There have been countless amounts of times where I would write something extremely positive riddled with cool facts that go ignored…but as soon as something insignificant like a personal nickname I gave Matsui is mentioned…all hell breaks loose. You tell me? It’s just coincidence??

Even when I write something very positive (when it is responded to) there is a sarcastic or condescending twist put on a response.

Whether you think it’s funny or not is irrelevant. I’m well aware of what I write and the responses I get. Much more so than you are to what I write and the responses that follow.

There is no persecution “complex”…I was merely documenting what has happened while trying to justify it all. I haven’t done any scientific tests in a lab to certify my beliefs…only offering scenarios…because it’s been very odd.

Mike HC

And I’m trying to tell you that it is not odd. And to be honest, I don’t find it odd that you feel personally feel singled out. But the truth is that you are not. The comments you get are not based on a personal grudge, but merely a reaction to what you are writing.

People respond to further there own selfish agenda, or entertainment. When you write something that people agree with, there is nothing much to write except “I agree” or +1, or whatever. I don’t think people get that much satisfaction out of agreeing with other people in this environment.

The people blogging have their own opinions. They are more likely to write a comment when they disagree. So, by your own admission, you like to play devil’s advocate. You are opening the door for disagreement.

Mike HC

And just in the last thread, you made a joke about how we should execute Javy. And someone else played along with your joke. No negative comments, no persecution. Under your belief, since most people here are Javy apologists, you should have gotten it bad. But you didn’t.

Rose

To be honest, somebody else made the original quote to execute Javy…I just followed suit when it was open for the taking. That is probably why I wasn’t torn apart. Had I been the originator – I would have been burned at the stake.

Mike HC

hahaha.

I guess there is no convincing you that there is not a personal grudge against you here.

As a neutral observer who agrees with you as much as I agree with anyone else, I don’t see anything personal. I’m not saying you don’t get ridiculed sometimes, as everyone does here from time to time, but it is really not personal.

If you notice, which you probably don’t because you are too involved with your own thing, TommieJohn’s original comments will many times get ignored. He just writes a comment to just about every post he even remotely disagrees with and conversation starts from there. Many times he will make a joke where nobody responds or joins in the fun at all. I doubt he takes it personal.

Rose

The difference is…people are afraid to disagree with him for whatever reason…and even if they do…it seems like people respond just to get a pat on the back from certain people.

I treat everybody equally. I don’t snuggle up to anybody or harrass anybody else. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt and have my own opinions. That is certainly not the case for everybody else. You have followers galore and people who say things just to be in the good graces of others. I’m not one of those people. I say what I feel and project my own opinions (albeit sometimes they come out wrong).

I see what you’re saying but it is what it is. Like I said, I made the mistake of arguing with a few of the enshrined posters on this site when I first got here…and now have to deal with the consequences I guess. I’m not crying over spilt milk…I just thought it was a bit ridiculous. It may not be as bad as I originally put it…but it most certainly exists. And you can’t deny that.

CS Yankee

Dude,

Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve! It’s not the Yankee way.

I remember the Godzilla thing…so what? As long as you guys threw back a couple of cold ones when he went yard, you were better off at the end of the day.

Stay positive though and use your knowledge in a positive way and I’m sure that everyones “feel good” will return. If you don’t stay positive, I’ll think your a “whining cry baby shit ass” and won’t bother with a reply.

Cool?

Rose

Like I said above, I wasn’t trying to be a whining cry baby shit ass…or instigate anything. Only merely trying to offer a different point of view while specifically saying that I think the team is still a monster and that it’s still early. Talking about players who are struggling when it’s still early could be just as arbitrary as talking about situations in a previous game that have already ended and can’t be changed.

I’ll try to work on my approach though.

CS Yankee

The bigger question was a “barley pop” used when referring to Matsui as chop-sui?

If so, then “It’z gooood”

bexarama

we also have the AL leader in pitching WAR. And Gardner’s WAR, considering his playing time and what people expect from him, isn’t even close to shitty, or crappy, or non-ideal, or whatever bad adjective you want to use.

bexarama

“According to Fangraphs they combine for a value of $1.3 million as of right now. ”

Yeah. It’s incredibly early.

http://www.bomberbanter.com/ BomberBanter.com

exactly; they’re not playing great and they’re 12-6 against a tough schedule

http://highteawithchurls.blogspot.com Matt on Earth

I posted an 8 on this one. I have been an 8 each week thus far though. On what hand, this team has the ability to be dangerous on a whole different level (ie. Teixeira gets hot offensively, Javy pitches as he historically has). On the other hand, I don’t envision teams like the Rays getting worse. I think they have enough young talent, that we HAVE to play great all year to keep pace with them.

CS Yankee

Agreed, the Rays have been impressive and own the Sox…i believe they took all four in Fenway.

Overall, the Yankees have had a harder schedule but are also 1.5 GB. We could be seeing two team win 105+ in the same divison this year. I wonder what the two best records in the same divison have been?

http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS

Add up the Rays’ opponent’s 2009 records thus far and you get 8 games under .500. Do the same with the Yankees and you get 294 games over .500

Yankees 12-6 >>>>>>> Tampa’s 14-5

CS Yankee

Thanks for the time looking that up!

Rays do look good however, if that young pitching holds up, the got the D and the lumber and are much better with their closer…only middle relief seems weaker than their ’08 club.

Should be a good race, I like our ride better though.

larryf

The Thames/Gardner thing: I am a big proponent of Brett over Marcus. We have not been able to hide Thames defensively and if he would just stop hitting things would be so much easier :-). Seriously, most starters are out of the game by the time our 9th hitter is up for a third time so we are talking about 2 Thames/Gardner at bats before the righty (usually) comes in. It will be a rare game that Thames plays 9 innings/4 AB’s…

Bret walks and steals second>>>>Thames hitting a double

I like Thames for right hand power pinch hitter late in the game (which won’t be often)

CS Yankee

No, a walk and steal alone is not greater than (or equal) to a double.

The walk is highly unlikely to create a RBI, whereas the double can even score Posada from first 90% of the time.

larryf

good points. I was trying to say that the walk/steal was more likely than the double..BG also more likely to score than Thames in various on base scenarios…

A.D.

Annoying to lose the series against the Halos when the 2 losses were winnable games, but really can’t complain too much.

Also a bit odd DH Jorge after & before a day off to then play Thames in left, where once again doesn’t make a play that Brett would have.

Andy in Sunny Daytona

where once again doesn’t make a HUUUGGEEE play that Brett would have.

Slight adjustment, if you don’t mind.

CS Yankee

Didn’t understand the Posada DH thing either…could have had Thames DH (to get the bat some swings) and use Posada as the catcher.

Maybe Joe wanted to have Frankie catch the slumping Javy to change things up a bit?

whozat

I think it was to get Jorge’s bat in the game without him having to squat all day. Since they were going to sit Nick anyway, Joe had to pick between putting Jorge behind the plate with Thames at DH and Gardner in LF vs Jorge at DH, Cervelli (a righty…) behind the plate, and thames in LF.

So, it’s +defense in LF with a lefty-on-lefty matchup and your 38 year old catcher behind the plate vs your 38-year-old catcher in the lineup but not squatting, poor D in LF but with a plus bat, and another righty bat in the lineup…Those are legit things to weigh against one another. There are pluses and minuses both ways.

CS Yankee

Good point, plus Cervelli been swinging a great bat lately.

It isn’t easy being the manager with a team that has so many options. I like that he treats the kids like equal assets versus the other Joe staying Vet loyal to playing time.

Beamish

I think we have to accept that Jorge will not catch much more than 100-110 games this year. That means more games at DH and more possibility that those will match with Thames putting him in the field.

Not ideal but the result of a 38 going on 39 year-old catcher whose bat is that damn good but whose knees may not be anymore.

If Gardner’s WAR right now is actually 0.4, at this point of the season, isn’t that actually like pretty damn good?

CS Yankee

I’m thinking a 9…if you list a 10, how can you get better?

It is way early (duh), and soon we’ll hear if the postseasonstarted today the Padres & A’s would be in and the Giants & Yankees would be the wild cards. However, we have played a brutal schedule to date and have a 12-6 that was done moreso on the road.

It is weird that the only “losing” team that we have played so far is the Red Sox.

Also, Gardner .4 WAR to date is beyond impressive! I understand (but don’t like) the platoon, as BG will likely slump a bit and they need to keep the other two OF’s active. Give the kid his due, Gardner, Hughes, Pettitte, Posada, Cano and Grand have been really great. Enjoy it!

Beamish

Oh noes! Javy is teh suck! And The Jesus has a .407 OPS. BUST! Confidence must be a 1 – they are doomed.

or

Was an 8.1, still is an 8…the possibility that Javy’s problems are mental and not mechanical (thus not easily “fixed”) costs the 0.1 in confidence. Javy is really the only concern – and that is based on a whopping 4 April starts. Panic is a long way from today.

That said, is it too late to stretch out Joba or are we going to see Mitre first?

Bob Stone

I’d really hate to see the team screw around with Joba. They did that enough last year. I’d stretch out Joba only as a last resort (like as replacement for a seriously injured starter or Javy just falling off the planet in his performance, which I doubt will hapen).

Mike HC

Joba is not exactly making a strong case to start right now. I doubt he magically turns into Roger Clemens if we put him into the rotation. Just like when he was struggling as a starter, it was foolish to assume he would become Mo in the bullpen. He still has some growing pains and learning in front of him, obviously.

Andy in Sunny Daytona

Jesus has an OPS of .715, his slugging pct. is .407.

Bob Stone

My confidence level is still holding at 9.5. I’m concerned about Javy but hopeful that he’ll straighten himself out.

I hope we see Marcus Thames in left as little as possible. I like Gardner and want to see him given a chance at having the left field job full time. Relegate Thames to late inning pinch hitter only.

CS Yankee

As a late inning PH, he would likely need to play some late inning OF….this is bad as well in those late innings close games that batters fight off a Mo pitch to the short grass

Bob Stone

True. It’s almost impossible to hide his sub-par defense.

Ansky

I was at a 9. Then after yesterday’s game I went down to a 5, put on my number 53 jersey and wrote a letter to Brian Cashman expressing my frustration and requesting a refund on my season tickets.

/sarcasm’d

YankeeScribe

8

Someone besides Jeter, Cano, and Posada needs to pick up the slack on offense. They can’t carry the offense all year round.

Pitching has been awesome outside of Javy and a few bullpen blowups.

Overall, the team is doing great but there is plenty of room for improvement.

ARod and Tex need to start hitting closer to their career norms

Girardi needs to use better judgement with his arms in the pen

Javy needs to prove his critics wrong

http://twitter.com/Cnight_UP Cnight_UP

Arod is hitting .322 with a .450 OBP, what else do youw want?

Jeremy

ARod is having a typical ARod season (152 OPS+ so far) but it’s not getting much attention, maybe because he’s not hitting a lot of home runs.

bexarama

A-Rod 2010 so far: .294/.400/.515/.915, 152 OPS+, .397 wOBA, 150 wRC+

This is not something to complain about, especially considering he hasn’t gone on any sort of homer tear yet. Teixeira, yes.

W.W.J.M.D.

I don’t understand how anyone reasonably vote under a 6, not that I did, I’m at an 8.

dkidd

i voted 9. worst case scenario, if javy is hurt or can’t right himself, it’s joba to teh 1st!

a.l. beast should be a fun 3 team race (and by fun, i mean gut churningly tense)

YankeesJunkie

I think 8 is about a right score for the team. A 10 is reserved for a WS win and I don’t 9 is really necessary until the Yankees clinch AL home field advantage at least a playoff spot. The Yankees have been really solid year for the most part. Gardner and Cano have been standouts among the best players for this team so far. I hoping to see Johnson, Granderson, Swisher, and especially Javy pick up the pace, but that is due time. The other big thing I am disappointed in is that I would have expected to see Robertson get more big innings rather than just handing them to Joba.

Jeremy

I’m at 9 as usual. Teixeira and Vazquez being terrible are obvious sore spots on a team that is otherwise rock solid. A lot of teams would be in panic mode if they brought in players like those two and they didn’t perform in the early season. The Yankees are doing fine.

YankeesJunkie

Tex is about to right the ship the last couple of games he has been squaring up the ball a lot better the last couple games.

Trolly McTrollerson

Confidence Level: 2

Started at 10 a few months back, but then:

-1 for Nick Johnson. Don’t like base clogging. Might as well have just re-signed Giambi.

-1 for not re-signing Jose Molina. Dude threw out for D-Rays trying to steal. Plus, dude obviously know how to win (2009 ring).

-2 for losing Kate Hudson. A-Rod sucked in the postseason without her. He was great with her. Therefore, he will suck in the playoffs this season, if we’re lucky enough to get that far without Molina and stuck with NiBBck JoDLhnson.

-3 for Javier Vazquez. Dude obviously sucks and can’t take the pressure of NY. People keep pointing out he was fantastic the first half of 2004. But there was no pressure the first half of that season, since the Yanks didn’t win the WS in 2003. This season, Yanks a re defending champs and now he sucks. Not coincidence.

-1 for Phil Hughes in fifth slot. No reason we couldn’t have got a vet presence signed up like Vicente Padilla or Adam Eaton.